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Aboriginal Career Centre students pose after completing the centre’s Flagging course. 2 I always felt like I had to work twice as hard to show that I could do the work. — David Cook Alberta Aboriginal Construction Career Centre (AACCC) E ven though he had a solid decade of employment in the construction industry and a National Construction Safety Officer certification, when he was seeking a new job last year, David Cook wasn’t having a lot of luck. Looking to transition into safety work, he wasn’t getting any callbacks from potential employers. “There’s a lot of guys out there with 15-plus years’ experience in safety who are sitting at home,” Cook says. “So when these job postings do come up, those guys are first on the list because of their experience.” Cook, an Aboriginal man, saw a Facebook post about Bow Valley College’s Alberta Aboriginal Construction Career Centre, a facility that opened last year and helps First Nations and Métis clients prepare themselves for construction jobs and connect with employers in the industry. The centre specializes in helping Aboriginal workers transition from rural life to urban employment situations. For some clients, this can mean anything from being set up with proper housing and social services to increasing job skills. With funding from the Calgary Foundation, the centre is also working on developing sensitivity training programs for industry partners to address discrimination in the workplace. For Cook, the key to success was meeting with counsellors at the centre and having them connect him with Thermal Systems, which hired him. There wasn’t a safety position open at the time but they got his foot in the door doing construction projects (including working on the National Music Centre’s Studio Bell) with a promise that he would be moved into safety once a job opened. “Being Aboriginal is something I’ve been dealing with it my whole career in construction,” Cook says. “I always felt like I had to work twice as hard to show that I could do the work. I’ve always seen myself as a natural leader, and that’s what I’ve become.” Calgary Foundation |Spring 2016 18
Clients, employers and Champions Career Centre staff members gather at a Workplace Inclusion session held by Champions during Disability Employment Awareness Month last October. 3Champions Career Centre I t’s expected that most modern companies will welcome a diverse staff that includes persons with disabilities. But even with the best intentions, sometimes it can be difficult for disabled employees to communicate what they need to do their job properly. Even though her company has clear diversity policies, making people feel comfortable about discussing their disabilities can be a delicate task, says Wanda MacKenzie, centralized hiring specialist for the Bank of Montreal’s Alberta and Northwest Territories division. “For me, it’s important to try to understand what a new employee is dealing with ahead of time,” MacKenzie says. “It’s critical for any candidate, but particularly when we’re dealing with visible or invisible disabilities, we need to be able to set that candidate up for success.” MacKenzie works closely with Champions Career Centre, an agency that helps both individuals with disabilities and employers who want to support a diverse workplace. With funding from the Calgary Foundation, the centre has created a resource called the SHARE Method toolkit that helps disabled employees discuss with managers what they need to do the best possible job. “My disability is not visible and, unlike a physical disability, it’s hard to explain to employers,” says one Champions client. “For the longest time, I felt like my ‘wheelchair’ was on the inside because you can’t see my disability. With Champions help, I learned how to talk confidently about my learning disability with a focus on my abilities and strengths that I bring to the workplace — and landed the job of my dreams.” For MacKenzie, her relationship with the centre has been essential in helping her recruit a diverse workforce and understand how the bank can accommodate different needs. “We talk about accommodation that we can offer, making sure that the branch is a fit, the leader is a fit and really making them comfortable with our company and what we can do to support their disability in any way that we need to,” MacKenzie says. “We break down the barrier of the unknown, which is really important.” My disability is not visible and, unlike a physical disability, it's hard to explain to employers. — Champions Career Centre client Photos: Facing Page, courtesy AACCC; this page, courtesy Champions Career Centre calgaryfoundation.org - 19
Page 1 and 2: SPUR Calgary Foundation / Spring 20
Page 3 and 4: Contents FEATURES FORGING CONNECTIO
Page 5 and 6: WHEN GARY NISSEN was 10 years old,
Page 7 and 8: I believe an immigrant should be ab
Page 9 and 10: Students and seniors team up as par
Page 11 and 12: Calgary Jane’s Walks include Chin
Page 13 and 14: Welcoming Refugees: Calgary Catholi
Page 15 and 16: … Well-connected community member
Page 17: Jinger Forde of Junior Achievement
Page 21 and 22: Fabric Helping newcomers make Calga
Page 23 and 24: Success with Soul Zita Cobb uses bu
Page 25 and 26: viable, a place with opportunities
Page 27 and 28: F OR DR. MARIA ERIKSEN, seeing educ
Page 29 and 30: I’d like to cast as wide a net as
Page 31 and 32: Ali Bhojani Chair, Board of Directo

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